Newspaper Page Text
Page 4B
July 20, 2022
^Reporter
Anna Ham's tresses will help
another child feel beautiful
As summertime heated up,
Anna Ham was looking for
a good way to cool off. She
decided a haircut was in order,
but wanted the hair to go to a
good cause.
Researching online with her
Mom, Anna who will be in
3rd grade at K.B. Sutton Ele
mentary when the new school
year begins, learned about
Wigs for Kids, a nonprofit or
ganization that helps children
suffering from medical hair
loss. They found a participat
ing stylist nearby and sched
uled an appointment.
The process was very simple
and easy. Removing 12 inches
of hair, they sent it off to be
crafted for someone spe
cial. While Anna feels a lot
cooler at the beach, she was
certainly glad to have donated
to such a worthy cause. She
feels privileged to have gifted
to others what God had given
to her.
Ann is the daughter of
Adam and Bonnie Ham of
Monroe County.
If you have the opportunity
to donate, please visit www.
wigsforkids.org for more
information.
Monroe Co. rates 29th in Ga. for health factors
Monroe County
Error Margin
Top U.S. performers
Georgia
Premature death
9,700
8,300-11,200
5,600
8,000
Poor or fair health
19%
17-22%
15%
19%
Poor physical health days
4.4
4.1-4.6
3.4
4.1
Poor mental health days
5.2
4.9-5.5
4.0
4.8
Low birthweight
11%
10-13%
6%
10%
Adult smoking
20%
17-23%
15%
17%
Adult obesity
32%
30-33%
30%
33%
Food environment index
8.3
8.8
6.3
Physical inactivity
29%
26-32%
23%
27%
Access to exercise
55%
86%
70%
Excessive drinking
18%
17-19%
15%
18%
Driving deaths by alcohol
22%
14-29%
10%
21%
STIs
282.8
161.8
637.8
Teen births
17
14-21
11
23
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
North Central Health Dis
trict (NCHD), which includes
Monroe and 12 other counties,
published its 2022 Community
Health Assessment at the begin
ning of July. This data is usually
published about every five years
to provide insights and informa
tion on health within each of
the districts 13 central Georgia
counties.
NCHD epidemiologist Amber
Erickson gave an online overview
of the data on July 12. She said
that plans had been to publish an
assessment in the fall of 2019, but
the team didn’t finish analyzing
the data before Covid 19 pulled
those responsible for analyzing
the data into other duties. The last
NCHD Community Health As
sessment was published 2014-15.
The report covers aspects of
health in each county from rates
of illnesses to social factors like
housing and income. NCHD uses
the collected data to identify pub
lic health priorities and imple
ment strategic plans and goals.
Each county is rated on health
outcomes and health factors. In
health factors, Monroe County
is ranked among the healthiest
counties in Georgia, 29th of the
159 counties. Health factors are
predictors of how healthy the
population should be, like smok
ing, obesity, food environment,
access to exercise opportunities,
available health care and social
and economic factors.
In health outcomes, indica
tions of health problems,
Monroe County is in the
higher middle range of
Georgia counties, rank
ing 59 of 159 counties.
Some of these factors
are premature death
(under age 75), quality
of life, average number
of healthy days, poor
mental health days, low
birthweight. Much of the
data provided is from
2019.
Life expectancy in
Monroe County aver
ages 76.6 years, with 72.0
years for the black popu
lation and 77.4 years for
the white population.
There isn’t a significant trend,
but life expectancy has dropped
slightly in the last few years.
The primary causes of death are
malignant neoplasia and diseases
of the heart. Other top causes
of death, although significantly
below the top two, are accidents,
chronic lower respiratory dis
eases, intentional self harm and
covid.
The assessment shows that 20
percent of Monroe County adults
(over 18) smoke compared to
17 percent of the population in
Georgia. Of Monroe County
adults, 32 percent are obese com
pared to 33 percent in Georgia.
On the food environment index,
Monroe County gets an 8.3 out of
10, with the state getting 6.3 out
of 10.
Although only 55 percent of
Monroe Countians have access to
exercise opportunities (compared
to 70 percent in Georgia), only
29 percent are physically inactive
compared to 27 percent of people
in Georgia.
Monroe County is tied with
McIntosh County at 7th highest
in the state for home owner
ship, with 82 percent of homes
occupied by owners. The aver
age traffic volume is 142 vehicles
per mile of major roadways. 87
percent of Monroe Countians
drive to work alone, compared to
78 percent of Georgians.
The report is available for
review at NCHD52.org/health-
assessment-and-improvement.
There will be another online
overview on Thursday, July 21
at 2 p.m. Those participating are
able to ask questions.
In the overview Erickson
focused on the 13-county district
of Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford,
Hancock, Houston, Easter, Jones,
Monroe, Peach, Putnam, Twiggs,
Washington and Wilkinson
counties, which was a population
of 543,450 according to the 2020
census. Of that number 321,000
people are in Bibb and Houston
counties; 27,957 are in Monroe
County, which grew 5.8 percent
from 2010-2020, second only
to Houston County’s 17 percent
growth. Seven of the counties in
the district lost population over
the last decade.
Erickson noted that age and
ethnic variations affect the health
data for each county. Education
level and median income are
also primary indicators of health.
Greater commute times equate to
greater health risks. Erickson said
that in the North Central Health
District 39 percent of children
live in single parent homes, but
that number jumps to 74 percent
in Hancock County.
Erickson talked about the
prevalence of chronic diseases
in the district, including heart
disease, diabetes, cancer and
asthma. She said cancer is highest
in white non-Hispanic males at
196 deaths/100,000, followed by
white non-Hispanic females and
Asian females. The data show in
fectious disease, such as sexually
transmitted disease, is highest in
Bibb, Washington and Hancock
counties, with Monroe being one
of the counties with the lowest
rate. The district has high rates of
pneumonia, an infectious disease,
which will lead the district to
promote pneumonia shots.
Data on family violence came
from the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation. It showed that most
incidents of family violence oc
curred between former or current
spouses. Surveys indicated that
about a third of respondents feel
safe in their neighborhoods.
Monroe County Library offers "Oceans of Possibilities" for summer learning
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Story Time at Monroe County
Library featured the Monroe
County Farm Bureau on Thursday,
July 14. In keeping with the Sum
mer Reading Program’s theme of
“Ocean’s of Possibilities,” Melissa
Mathis read the story of “Three
Little Shrimp” by J. Steven Spires.
After hearing how the shrimp
encounter and escape egrets, a
big fish, a loggerhead turtle and a
fisherman and finally make it to
the ocean, the children and parents
learned some interesting facts
about shrimp as they colored a
picture of the three little shrimp.
People in the U.S. eat one billion
pounds of shrimp each year, and
worldwide people eat five billion
pounds of shrimp. Some cultures
like their shrimp with the heads
on. As well as people, dolphins,
birds, whales and other crus
taceans like to dine on shrimp.
Shrimp have 10 legs and a sharp
point on their heads to defend
themselves. Most of them live one
year, but they can live 6 1/2 years.
They taste like what they eat, which
may cause them to taste salty. One
female shrimp can lay 2,000 eggs
annually; the eggs hatch after two
weeks. The greatest danger to the
shrimp population isn’t predators,
it’s pollution of their water.
Sandi Williams of Monroe
County Farm Bureau and Mathis
served the children ice cream with
chocolate syrup and sprinkles.
Bringing ice cream to the Summer
Reading Program is a Monroe
County Farm Bureau tradition
in recognition of National Dairy
Month in June.
To complete Story Time, Monroe
County librarian Kimberly Clay
ton helped the children make their
own special slime with their choice
of color, scent and charm figures.
The next Story Time at Monroe
County Library will be Wednes
day, July 20 at 11 a.m. with Curious
George and ‘Financial Fun. The
next Summer Reading Programs
will be Science 4 All with the Sci
ence Machine on July 22 at 4 p.m.
at Monroe County Clubhouse, the
Game Day Finale on July 26 at 4
p.m. and the movie “Moana” at 2
p.m. on Thursday, July 28.